


fish out of water

by peeira



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-25 12:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15640962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peeira/pseuds/peeira
Summary: AU where Rin is the one who gets under the boulder instead of Obito.





	1. Chapter 1

Kakashi and Obito couldn’t believe their eyes.

Rin, who only moments ago was running for her life, was now under a large boulder. Obito wasted no time running towards her, but stopped abruptly. He saw it all with his newly-awakened Sharingan: not only was she extremely weak, the left side of her body was completely crushed. She had no way of escaping.

"Rin! I’m getting you out of here!" He's trying desperately to move the rock, but to no avail. It's too heavy for him. "Please… Rin!" He keeps yelling.

"I..." She manages to say, very faintly.

"Rin, please… don’t say anything. We’ll get you out of here! We’ll-".

"Obito! We need to leave!" Kakashi yells, not taking his eyes off Rin. He doesn't bother trying to hide the fact he is crying. How could he? His teammate was slowly dying and there was nothing he could do. Rin was dying because she pushed Obito out of the away. Because Obito pushed _him_ away. If only he had listened to Obito in the first place, none of this would have happened. He failed them as a captain.

"Kakashi… it’s not your fault…" Rin says slowly and painfully, as if reading his thoughts. She was forcing a smile, which only hurt him more.

Suddenly there was yelling and movement outside. The enemy Iwa-nin were rapidly approaching, ready to create a cave-in. Rocks kept falling and the ground kept shaking.

"Please… you need to go, or you’ll be crushed too," she tries to keep smiling, but is visibly getting tired.

The boys were frantically sobbing. The cave would collapse at any second, so they had no choice but to start running. Obito looked back at Rin, tears streaming down his face. She could no longer force a smile, and was beginning to cry too.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t give you what you wanted Obito…" The last thing she sees are her team members rushing out of the cave.

She was all alone now, slowly awaiting her death.

If only she hadn’t been taken. If only she could have defended herself. If only she could fight.

And then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An idea I had recently, where Rin is the one to stay under the rocks. Obviously there will be major changes, such as Kakashi not having the Sharingan, and Obito being just fine.
> 
> I honestly have no idea whether this idea has been made before - with Rin "dying", that is. I only found AU's about Kakashi being the one left behind. So I wanted to try something with Rin, a character that I really like!


	2. Chapter 2

Rin wakes up with a loud gasp.

She feels numb. She doesn’t move for some time and her senses slowly returned to her. She tries getting up, but can barely move because of the pain. She realizes she can’t move because her entire body is tied up. _Again_. Where was she? And why was it so dark?

Wait, dark? No, it’s not that it was dark. More like, something was covering her face and her eyes.  _That's right_ , she recalls. She had been completely crushed.

She tries calming down, taking slow breaths. The last thing she remembers was being crushed by large falling rocks. Wait... Rocks? The cave! Where were her teammates? Where was her sensei? How long had she been gone? A sudden sound of metal dragging through the floor makes her ears ring.

“You’re finally awake,” a voice abruptly emerges. Rin stiffens, not that she was moving much in the first place. She can’t see or feel her surroundings, and is visibly getting more distressed. _Not this again._

“The right side of your body was completely crushed by those rocks. It’s a miracle you survived.”

She gulps. How did he know about the rocks?  More importantly, who was this man? Was she in Konoha, in a medical facility? Was he a doctor? She had so many questions.

“Who..." she coughs before she can finish talking. She tries to find strength to form words. “Who are you, sir? Are you a doctor?”

No answer. She couldn’t see, but she could feel the cold stare he was giving her.

Her head was spinning, she could barely keep up. "Were you the one who saved me? Are we in Konoha?" She doesn’t receive any answers, but keeps going. "Who are you?”

“I’m but a ghost of the Uchiha. My name is Madara Uchiha.” His hollow words cause a shiver to go through Rin’s spine. His name was... familiar, though.

“Uchiha?! Then… that means we are in Konoha!" She is overjoyed, and almost forgets the situation she is in. Maybe this man knows Obito! She could get back to her team! In the midst of her enthusiasm, she tries getting up but quickly falls on her back. That’s right. She was all bandaged up. _Again_.

“Could you please tell me where I am?”

“You’re underground, beneath a passage I myself constructed.” That explanation offered no answers at all. Was she in some sort of facility, then?

“Were you the one who saved me?”

“I did patch you up. You were in a terrible state. If it wasn’t for the Hashirama cells I embedded into you, you would be dead.” The mysterious man kept explaining, not bothering to slow down.

 _Hashirama?_ Like the First Hokage? _Cells?_ She was too exhausted to process all of this. It didn’t seem like this man had ever talked to a child before.

“I… I see. Thank you.” That all she could say, really.

“Don’t thank me just yet. I intend you to pay me back.”

“I don’t see how I could help you. I’m just a medical ninja student. I was kidnapped by Iwagakure shinobi and had to be saved by my teammates. I couldn’t even defend myself…" She says all of this with sadness in her voice. It was true and she knew it. If only she could fight…

The older man doesn't seem to pay attention to her words and continues. “Your body isn’t fit for shinobi work anymore. I even tried to give you an eye from my stock but your body rejected it. Not really a suprise.” His voice was getting closer, and so was the metal clatter. “You said you were a medical ninja? Then I’m sure you can perform first-aid on your own.”

“Did… Did you try do something to my eyes? I remember being crushed on my right side…” She was almost afraid to know the answer. Were they crushed too? Last she rememberes, she could see from one of them.

Struggling at first, she manages to get her left arm free from the gauze covering her. Rin reaches for her head and undoes the bandages on her eyes. She slowly takes the fabric with her free hand, opening her eyes very slowly. She feels a wave of relief sweep over her when she realizes both of her eyes are still intact.

Now that her eyes were free, she began focusing on the location she was in. Her vision was somewhat blurry but she could see well enough. There was barely anything too see at all. It seems like a cave. _That brings back memories_. She glances to her right and sees a large tree, what seemes to be its stump in front of it and… And then she freezes.

Behind the tree stump there stands a giant, terrifying statue of what appeares to some kind of monster. Although it clearly isn’t alive it, was creepy enough to make Rin tremble. She also sees the man standing before her. He is older than she was expecting. Much, much older. And there is something attached to his back. Are those… tree roots?

Although his face is partially covered by long white hair, Rin could clearly see his Sharingan. Just like the one Obito had awakened earlier. He is also holding onto what appeared to be some sort of metal sickle, probably to keep him standing. That explains the sound from earlier.

She stares at the older Uchiha for some time, being too nervous to say anything.

“I need to get back,” she manages to let out. “I need to get back to my teammates.”

“You’re free to leave if you want,” he states. “That is, if you can.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it before, didn’t you? Not to mention you can’t do anything with that body.”

She realizes she hadn’t accessed her own situation yet. She looks down and sees her entire body swathed in bandages. Only her left arm is free, the rest is all covered up. She had suspected this much.

She had reminded herself over and over again that she wasn’t strong enough. She knew this.  Her teammates risked their lives to save her instead of following the rules. They were ready to die for her. It was time she changed.

“Then I will… I will become stronger,” she feel surprised by her own determination. “I want to stop this war! I don’t want anyone else to get hurt!” She was now yelling, more to herself than to Madara, really. Feeling some discomfort again, she grabs at her eyes with her hand.

This sudden outburst prompted a surprised look from Madara. He wasn’t sure she could be of any help to him, so he decides to test her resolution.

“Get stronger, you say?” he almost sounds like he's mocking her. “You won’t go anywhere in your condition,” he says and slowly turns his back on her.

“Then…” she hesitates at first. “Will you train me?” She removes her hand from her eyes and faces the older man with a resolute look.

“Train you?" He starts walking towards the tree stump, grabbing onto his scythe.

“You’re an Uchiha," she began. “ _And_ you managed to live this long.”

He seems deep in thought. “It’s not like any of us can leave this place. Not in our condition,” he inhales. He approaches the tree stump and sits on top of it. “Very well,” e says without opening his eyes. “I _did_ went through a lot of trouble to bring you back. You can’t pay me back like that.” He had waited long enough for this moment, to find a suitable person to carry out his plan. With the proper training she would do just fine, even she wasn't an Uchiha.

 _Yes!_ Now she wouldn’t rely on anyone anymore! Now she could protect her friends!

Rin could feel what little strength she had left leave her body. She had moved too much and wasn’t even recovered. She’s a medical ninja, she should have known better than to get too excited.

She collapses onto the bed and quickly falls asleep, exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito and Rin's inital reactions to Madara would be very different, I reckon.   
> I personally think Rin wouldn't remember who Madara was? I figured in the midst of a war, the teachers had more pressing things to teach. Then again, this is an AU so...
> 
> EDIT: If you have been reading this from the beggining, you'll notice how I changed some stuff that was just silly and probably made no sense.......


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you feeling better, Ring?” A white humanoid figure emerges from the wall.

“It’s Rin.... I’m slowly getting better. I healed my wounds, and whatever Madara used on me is helping stabilize the tissue. I don’t even feel hungry or thirsty anymore.”

How long has it been since she was found by Madara? Months? A whole year? She didn’t really keep track anymore. All she thought about was getting stronger and going back to Konoha. She thought about her Minato and Kushina, about Kakashi and Obito. But that would take time; she couldn’t just show up unannounced. They would certainly be surprised by her sudden appearance and by how different she looks.

Her hair was longer- a little bellow her shoulders - and also… greasier. It’s not like she had time to keep up appearances underground. She couldn’t even leave, thanks to that giant boulder. Not that she wanted to. _Not yet_. She still had her purple clan markings, but were significantly cut and dirtier. The right side of her face was obviously full of scars from being crushed.

“All this training will be worth it. This time, I will be the one who saves everyone,” she had spent her day training her body, punching the wall constantly, which was now full of cracks. She was wearing one of Madara’s dark cloaks, covering her thorn clothes from all the time exercising.

“Who are you talking about?” The Swirly Zetsu asks. He enjoyed teasing Rin and was rather friendly with her.

“About my teammates. Obito and Kakashi. They were with me when it happened.” She wonders how they are doing. Were they getting along better? Did they make her a funeral? She missed them dearly. “One of them is also an Uchiha like Madara.”

“Was that one your boyfriend?” He teases her.

“No! It was nothing like that! I don’t even like…” She flushes and turns her face away. “A-Anyway! What are you doing here? Are you going to help me train today?” She glances at Madara, who was still sleeping. He would occasionally wake up and see how her skills had improved. Then he would go right back to sleep.

When he wasn’t sleeping Madara would train her and teach her how to properly use the Wood Release he gave her – she never asked where he got the cells from. Best not to know. Well, he wouldn’t necessarily _train_ her. He was too weak to move around. The Zetsus did all the heavy lifting.

She also learned from Madara how to perform several ninjutsu, such as barriers and sensing chakra. They would certainly come in handy in the future, he had said. But for what, she didn't know. _In time you'll know_ , he'd said.

Her healing skills had also greatly improved: the cells implanted in her body by Madara helped her heal instantly; she also learned how to use water and fire techniques she never remembered having.

“You seem more motivated than usual.” The White Zetsu says.

Obito was going to be Hokage, right? Then she would be his bodyguard! She could already imagine it: she and Kakashi would accompany him to meetings, to make sure no one would disrupt them. But this all seemes too far away. First, she needed to get stronger and pay back whatever Madara wanted.

“I’m still… somewhat confused by what Madara said earlier.”

“Ah, of course. Madara is not the type of man to adapt his speech to a child,” the White Zetsu shrugs. “In summary, he wants to rid the world of bad things.”

“That sounds-”

Abruptly, a familiar older voice echoes through the cave. Madara is awake.

“Show me what you have.”

 _Right_. Rin inhales deeply, and then exhales.

“Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!” She creates a huge fireball, just as he had taught her by focusing her chakra on her chest. She follows suit by using a Wood technique, thanks to her Hashirama cells. “Wood Style: Nativity of a Sea of Trees” Tiny tree branches start to emerge from underneath the ground. She pursues with a powerful punch on the already cracked wall. This causes the not-so stable ground to shake and for pieces of the wall to fall down. This makes the Zetsus cheer and jump around, but Madara remaines immobile.

 _That wasn’t enough?_ Rin clenches her fists. He is so hard to read.

“I think you’re ready.” That certainly takes her by surprise.

“Huh?”

He slowly starts to get up. “I think you’re ready to pay me back.”

“What exactly do I have to do? Does it have something to do with this… new world you want?”

“A world with no war. A world where there is only peace.”

“A world at peace, where there is no war? That does sound nice...” She contemplates. A world where children could grow up without worrying about their parents being killed. A world where children wouldn’t be forced to fight. “But how? It doesn’t sound possible.” There was a war going all after all.

“Genjutsu.’’ The older Uchiha says. “In a Genjutsu, you can make your dreams a reality. There are no wars, there are no fights.”

“But wouldn’t that be a fake reality?” She still couldn’t believe it.

“There can never truly be peace in this world. Humans only bring pain and suffering. They’re empty. Peace inevitably leads to war, love inevitably leads to hatred. In trying to protect what you love, you will surely destroy in the process.”

His words hit her hard. Rin thought about the friends she had lost in the war, so many who were her age – or even younger. She could tell by his voice he had been deeply hurt in the past. She almost felt sorry him.

“Could a world like that really work?”

“Look into my eye.” he says and she does as instructed.

As their eyes lock, Rin suddenly finds herself standing in a completely white space. Not exactly white, more like blank.

“This is my Genjutsu. It’s still a work in progress, but once I perfect it, I can bring here whatever I wish.”

“How?” She asks as she looks around.

“Like this.” Madara’s appearance changes drastically to a younger version in the blink of an eye. “As long as I keep drawing power from the Demonic Statue.”

“But how can this be used on everyone?”

“By casting this Genjutsu on the moon, I will create a dream world. A world where there are no wars.”

That was almost too much to take in. _The moon?_

“But how would it work in the first place? I don’t suppose you have any evidence-”

Madara points backwards. Rin turns and sees a tapestry depicting a ten-tailed monster with a person in its middle. He tells her about the Sage of Six Paths and the Ten-Tails, and how Madara awakened the Rinnegan when he was about to die from old age. He explains how he believes she might be able to master the Ten-Tails, and how he had given his Rinnegan to a boy in Amegakure.

“He will be crucial to our plan. You need to get him on your side.”

Rin thinks back to her Academy days. It all seems so distant now. Her days spent under Minato’s tutelage, the friendly fights between her teammates, patching up Obito while he spoke about his dream of being Hokage… They all came to an end because of the war. She had made up her mind.

“I understand,” she says firmly. “I will create a world where people can live happily without worries.”

Madara closes his eye and undoes his Genjutsu. Now back to reality, her surroundings were darker. Madara was back into being an old man again.

Madara starts to approach the White Zetsu and touches his right side. Black material startes to cover his right side, enveloping him completely.

“Think of this as my will. Use them for your own benefit.”

Madara pulls his fingers and focuses. A black staff suddenly starts to emerge from the Hashirama clone. “This will allow you to control the Ten-Tails when the time is ready.”

Madara slowly reaches forward and removes the roots keeping him alive. She starts to run towards him, but stops. He slowly reaches for his chair-like tree stump and sits down. He is panting.

She wasn’t exactly who he expected to find, but her skills would prove just fine. Maybe not an Uchiha but she would play her part. All she had to do now was follow the plan, that what the Black Zetsu was for. He would wait for the right time for Rin to summon him and finish their plan.

“Until I can be reborn.” And he collapses, finally dying.

But if there was a plan, Rin would do it on her own terms. Now she would find this mysterious boy with the Rinnegan and convince him to join her. Using her own ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know Rin has Fire and Water Release? Add that to the Wood Release given to her by the Hashirama’s cells…
> 
> I used many dialogue from the anime, but changed a few things to keep it shorter. 
> 
> Also just to clarify: this isn’t an evil!Rin fic or anything. It’s more of a role swap thing. Obito had his own ideas, so does Rin. Her personality is still the same. She has her Will of Fire, while Obito had his Curse of Hatred. We'll just have to wait and see how she will deal with things......


	4. Chapter 4

It was time to leave for Amegakure and find the boy with the Rinnegan. But first, Rin needed to get ready.

She went through her things. She tried to salvage some of it, but they were mostly torn and cut. She did find her apron almost intact, much to her relieve. She really liked it. She tied it around her waist, for old times’ sake. It still fit her perfectly. She just needed to clean it a little. When there was time.

She moved into another room – if one would could call it that, it was just another section of the hideout - and rummaged through Madara’s things, hesitating at first. It was full of weapons and cloaks. Some were old, others were just like the ones they used in Konoha. She took one of the cloaks and one of the weapons as well.

Rin had never left Konoha before, never been far away enough from home. Well, other than _that time_. The Black Zetsu, now attached to the White Zetsu, gave her the proper directions. She had decided to go alone, but he – they? – insisted on following her.

There was no need to worry about food or drink, thanks to the Zetsu cells implanted in her. She made sure to travel hidden from sight – not that anyone around these parts would recognize her, but rumors travelled quickly.

She had a mask covering her face as a precaution. She had asked the Swirly Zetsu to make her one, and he just. Gave her his face. He could just grow it back, he explained. It was still weird. It was swirly-shaped like the Zetsu, but had two eyeholes in it. She also had bandages covering her right arm. Not that she was hurt; she just didn’t feel like explaining why her right arm side was a different skin tone from the rest of her body.

She was wearing the long black cloak she had taken from Madara’s stuff, and underneath she wore simple clothes and some chainmail- also her apron. She was too attached to it to leave it behind. She kept her bob hair long, not bothering to cut it. She still had her clan markings, but they were barely visible on her scarred right side. She had also grown a few inches taller and was slightly more muscly than before. How long has it been again?

From Madara’s hideout she could travel through long distances, but she decided to pass through the rainy village to gather information on her own. Rin overhead many people talking about a certain group of 'saviors'. They would go to poor areas, protecting the weak against robbers until they learned how to defend themselves. One had odd eyes. _There_. She was getting closer.

* * *

“You see that red-haired one? That’s the one Madara gave his eyes to.” The Zetsu says.

She notices three figures, two boys and a girl, all standing underneath a rocky structure. Probably to take shelter from the constant falling rain.

“I think it would be best if you stayed behind...” She looks at her companions: two humanoid plant creature? One that even looks like a Venus flytrap? That would certainly bring up too many questions.

They argue at first, but do as she asks and retreat to the ground below.

She would convince the boy to her side using her own means, surely not the ones Madara had originally planned. If she wanted them on her side, she would have to prove to be a trustworthy ally. Quid pro quo.

She removes her hood and starts to approach, rain pouring down her mask and body. She walks slowly so they can notice her first. She didn’t want to startle them.

“Who are you?” The red-head turns around. It was just as Madara had said: a boy with purple, wheel-like eyes.

“My name is… Nora,” _Nora?_ It was the best she could come up with on the spot. She decided not to use her real name. At least for the time being.  “Will you please hear me out?’’

“How did you find us?” he said, barely audible.

“I’ve heard of what you’re doing and I want to help you.”

“Help us?” the girl asks. She has dark blue hair and a flower on top of it, entirely made out of paper.

“I also know about your eyes,” Rin says, pointing to his Rinnegan. “I can teach you how to properly use them.” The boy’s eyes went wide. He is clearly surprised to hear something like that come from a person he had never seen before. How could a total stranger know?

“Nagato, stand back.” The taller boy says as he walked protectively in front of Nagato. She could tell he was their leader, just by his reaction. “You just want his Rinnegan.”

“I just want to help. We share the same goal.”

“And would that be?”

“World peace.”

“You sound too good to be true,” he lets out a chuckle.

“You appear from nowhere and claim you want to help us,” the girl starts. “Somehow, you also know about his Rinnegan,” she frowns. “Sorry if we don’t trust you yet.”

“I know how this looks. I’m not here to-” she stops. She needs to think of her next words carefully. “As I said before, I want to help. I don't want any more people to suffer because of this war. I've seen more than enough.”

“Then prove it,” the other boy says. “Prove that you’re not here to take advantage of us.”

“What would you have me do?”

* * *

They had been doing this for quite some time now. Going to small hamlets inside the village and keep the populace safe. They were inside a cottage, where there lived an elderly couple. It was a tiny room, with barely any space.

“We already told you. There’s no need for you to do this,” an older man says, pouring some tea. “We don’t have the means to pay you back.”

“We’re not doing this for money,” the orange-haired boy begins. “We’re tired of Amegakure being treated as a war zone by the other villages.”

“We want to change it,” the girl says.

Rin was leaning against the wall, listening silently as they talked. She pondered about what she was hearing. There was a war going on and Konoha was heavily involved in it. She had lost many friends in it. She thought about how children like her were trained to go to war. Children like her who had to go on scouting missions near borders instead of playing.

The blue-haired girl suddenly approaches Rin. “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves yet,” she examines Rin carefully, looking her up and down. “I’m Konan.” Rin bows slowly.

“That’s Yahiko,” Konan points, as he keeps talking with the old man.

“He’s our leader.” Nagato said shyly. Rin can tell he has questions, but needs to know he can trust her first.

“Do you do this sort of thing often?” Rin asks, trying to ease the tension between them.

“When we can,” Konan replies. “That’s why we stay in hamlets like this. We help those who can not help themselves.”

“Everyone has suffered enough because of this war,” Yahiko adds, his arms crossed. “Even if it’s a small thing, we want to be there to help.” He is still wary of Rin and so keeps his distance.

“We want to give people hope.’’ Nagato says.

The door of the cottage is suddenly thrown open and an older woman suddenly appears. “They’re here!” she shouts. “Those bandits!”

“Stay here.” Yahiko says to the elderly couple. He pulls out his sword and starts to advance towards the door, looking at Rin. “Let’s see if you speak the truth.”

* * *

Outside the hamlet there stood six figures. The one in the middle - who one could identify as being in charge - tries to speak but is interrupted by Yahiko.

“Get out of here,” Yahiko says, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at them. “This is your only warning.”

“Like hell!” the obvious leader yells, and a fight quickly breakes out.  One of the bandits starts rushing towards Rin in a challenging matter. _It was time to test her skills_.

Rin quickly expelled a fireball at him - not really with the intent to harm him, more like to keep him at a distance and intimidated enough. Even though it was raining, she managed to keep the heat of the flames around her. But it only worked for a few moments, as he quickly launched himself towards her.

Rin jumps forward and locks her eyes into his. She quickly tricks her opponent into falling for a terrifying genjutsu Madara had once taught her, causing him to stagger. He is shocked at what he is looking at. “What the hell is that!?” he keeps screaming, covering his ears. Seeing her opponent petrified, she punches him in the gut with her right hand – throwing him at a considerable distance.

 

 _Well, that takes care of it._ She turns and looks at how the others were faring.

She sees the elegant style of Konan and is completely mesmerized. She sees how she turns simple pieces of paper into shuriken, slicing her foes. _How beautiful_ , she thinks. Uh, her fighting style, that is... Oh. But they don’t work well in the rain, it seems. She was about to be overwhelmed by her opponent if not for the windy intervention of Nagato. But she still ends up on the ground because of it.

Rin now gazes at Yahiko. As the bandit’s leader prepares to throw an explosive tag at him, he stops when he sees children running away crying. Seeing his opponent hesitate, Yahiko throws him back with a water attack. He was now on the ground, next to his other defeated comrades.

“Damn it!” he gets up and assumes a fighting stance. “I knew it! You’re working for Hanzo!”

“We may wear the forehead protectors,” Yahiko says. “But we’re doing this on our own.”

“We want to be just like him. In building a path for peace,” he reaches for his pouch and akes out some straws. _That’s interesting_ , Rin thinks.

“You see, if you only have-” he holds up one straw, which quickly dissolves in the pouring rain.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” One of the miscreants shouts, confused. “Are you trying to scare us or something?”

“J-Just listen to me, will you!” Yahiko yells back, clearly embarrassed. This makes Konan and Nagato laugh a little.

Rin watches as they argue back and forth. Suddenly the others tough attitude was nowhere to be seen. She couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how much this reminded her of the silly arguments her teammates had.

“W-What I mean is…” Yahiko stutters. “The more straws you have placed together, the stronger it can become!” He scratches his nose. “Just… get out of here.”

“Whatever…” the leader starts to walk away, but briefly turns around. “We’ll be back.”

“I know you will.” Yahiko sheathes back his sword.

Yahiko starts approaching Rin. “Your skill is… something else. I’ll admit it.”

“Do you want me to do anything else?” She asks.

“Let’ go back to the cottage,” he answers. “Then we wait.’’ 

* * *

Sure enough, the thugs from before were standing outside the small house.

“Please let us join you!” the boys from before bow before Yahiko, who is smiling.

“My name is Kyusuke,” the one Rin assumes to be their leader introduces himself. “I’m the fastest guy around here, so if you need any intel just leave it to me!”

He glances at Rin, confused. “Are you with them? I saw you fight but you’re not wearing a headband. Not to mention that weird mask...” He tries to reach for it with his hand, but she leans backwards.

“I-,” she stutters. “I, uh...”

Small butterfly-like particles start to form in the air, hovering around Rin’s face. Konan approaches Rin and the papers start to turn into beautiful flowers around her hands.

“Nora, right?” Konan extended her hands and handed Rin the bouquet. “These are for you.”

“For me?” Rin looks at the origami. It was like the one she had on her head. “These are so beautiful!” She admires them for a while and places one on her head. Konan blushes slightly.

“We’ve been doing this for a while,” Yahiko interruptes and approaches Rin.

“That’s exactly what I want to do.” Rin says.

“Us too!” Kyusuke adds. “We all left the village because we started getting delusional with Hanzo. But petty thieving won’t take us anywhere.”

“So...” one of Kyusuke’s partners says. “Do we have some sort of… secret hideout?”

* * *

“I never expected this many people to join us.” Yahiko looks around cheerfully. In just a matter of time, his small group of shinobi had grown significantly larger, full of those who shared his ideals.

“It’s because of you, Yahiko.” Konan says.

“You know that’ not true…”

“You're the leader after all,” Rin says.

“We’ll need to figure out a name for our group soon.” Nagato says.

Yahiko looks outward at the sunrise. He thinks of his time with Konan and Nagato, and then the training with Jiraya. He never thought he would come this far.

“Akatsuki.” He finally says. _Dawn._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because, you know………...Obito➡ Tobi; so Nohara➡ Nora... Clever, I know.
> 
> If you follow the anime closely, you’ll notice I changed a few things – I didn’t want to make a copy of it lmao. Plus, in some sources, Madara told Obito to act using his name, but I’m preeeetty sure in the anime Madara was surprised to see his name thrown around like that? I went with the latter anyway, I don’t think Rin would use his name in the first place.
> 
> Just think of Rin’s mask as the one 'Tobi' uses, but with two eyeholes.
> 
> Also! I realized that Naruto also uses bandages to cover his Hashirama arm after the last Sasuke battle! I completely forgot about that. It’s the same idea with Rin!


	5. Chapter 5

“That went better than expected.” The Black Zetsu says as he emerges from the wall within her quarters. She could never feel them approaching, even with the Hashirama cells enhancing her sensory abilities.

She was wearing the black Akatsuki zip up robe, still keeping her Zetsu mask and the bandages on her right arm.

“Ring-Ring!” The Swirly Zetsu appears from behind the wall and quickly falls to the ground. He rushes towards Rin and envelops her. Basically a hug. She still wasn’t used to it, though. “That’s my face.” he says, poking her mask.

“You managed to get the boy on your side,” the Black Zetsu says eerly “ _and_ even infiltrated their organization.”

“I didn’t _infiltrate_ it.” She answers, somewhat annoyed. Black Zetsu wasn’t like the others clones, it’s like he had a mind of his own. Which made sense, since he came from Madara and not from the Hashirama clone.

“Don’t forget you still need to pay Madara back. He was the one who brought you back and trained you after all,” he says, rather intensely. “You agreed to his plan, didn’t you?”

Boy, she did not trust this guy at all. Madara’s Will or not, he always had something more to say.

“…I need to go,” she says, and quietly leaves the room.

“Bye!” Swirly waves at her and melts into the ground.

“Do you think she changed her mind about the plan?” The White Zetsu part asks his counterpart.

“That doesn’t matter. She _will_ do it,” the Black Zetsu replies. “Madara made sure of it.”

“Oh right. _That_ thing.” The White Zetsu says, as they slowly descended into the floor.

* * *

Rin finds herself in the middle of the hideout, where the other Akatsuki members are currently engaged in conversation. Over the last few months there had been many people requesting assistance from them, and many more who wished to join their ranks.

 She spots Nagato and Yahiko in a corner and joins them.

“Oh, hey Nora,” Nagato greets her. “We were just talking about how much we have changed.”

“We have received so many requests we can barely keep track of them anymore.” Yahiko says cheerfully as he unfolds a small paper from a messenger pigeon.

“We even get them from people outside of Amegakure!” Kyusuke shouts from across the room. He has a pile of scrolls and papers around him and is searching through them. “Looks like we’re making quite a name for ourselves!”

“At first it was just me, Konan and Nagato,” Yahiko says. “But look at us now,” he points at their comrades.

“To think our group expanded this quickly.” Nagato says, examining the room. “It’s only been a few months since we started Akatsuki.”

“Do you think Hanzo has heard of us yet?” Kie asks as he and Konan unfold more and more requests. Konan notics Rin and gave her a quick smile.

“We’re following his example after all,” Yahiko adds. “The more people we can help the better.”

“To think a few orphans managed to influence this many people...” Nagato says coyly.

“You’re orphans? The three of you?” Rin asks. She suspected it, but never brought it up. After all, she never mentioned much about herself either, other than where she was from. Nor did they ever enquire her about it.

“Yeah, that’s what war does to you,” Yahiko says, sending the bird away.

“Yes. My parents were…” Nagato hesitates. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. “They were killed by Konoha shinobi.”

 _Konoha_.

“We were on our own at first, trying to survive,” Yahiko says. “Then we were trained by Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.”

“Jiraiya trained you?!” She hadn’t heard that name in a while. Minato’s sensei! She wondered how he was doing, even asking the Zetsus to keep tabs on him – there was some talk about becoming the next Hokage, but nothing was clear yet.

“You know him?” Nagato asks, intrigued.

“I’m from Konoha after all…” she answers. She made up her mind not to reveal who she really was. At least not for the time being, there were still _things_ to consider.

“He trained us until we were old enough to take care of ourselves,” Yahiko says.

“Bro!” Kyusuke yells from the corner, unwrapping a large scroll. “Can you come here? I don’t get this one.”

“Right!” Yahiko says as he walks away.

Nagato watches Yahiko walk away, then turns his focus on Rin. She could tell he wanted to ask something, but she wasn’t one to pry. Not usually.

“When we first met you said you knew about my eyes,” he finally says, after staring for a while.

“I _did_ say that.”

“How?”

“It’s a long story…” How was she going to explain it? A nearly 100 year old hermit told her about this impossible plan that would involve the moon and his eyes? The eyes that belonged to him in the first place? A plan that made no sense but that she had agreed for some reason in the first place?

Nagato notices the hesitation on her posture and gestures vaguely. “Maybe we should speak somewhere else...”

He takes her to the roof, and as always in Amegakure, it was raining. There is a puddle forming on the floor, and both are careful not to step on it as they walked.

“I think we can speak here,” Nagato says.

“Before I tell you…” Oh boy, this would be fun. If she wanted him to trust her, she had to come clean. Maybe not about _everything_ , though. “Have you ever heard of… Madara Uchiha?”

“Madara? I know he helped found Konoha, but then he turned traitor,” he says, looking rather confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Uh…” she stammers. Then she has an ideia. “Look into my eyes?” It _could_ work.

“Ok...?” he was perplexed, but did as she asked.

She slowly advancs towards him. As they exchanged looks, they found themselves in a completely blank space. (Not like Madara’s. This was _hers_.)

“Explaining would take too much time,” she says. “It would be easier if I just showed you.”

“Where are we?” Nagato asked, looking at his empty surroundings.

“It’s my genjutsu,” she points behind him and shows him the figure of the Sage Madara had once shown her.

“I know who that is,” he says, slowly walking towards it. “That’s the Sage of the Six Paths, right?”

“You know about this?” Rin asks, intrigued. She brought him here to explain, but it seemed like he already had a heads up.

“I heard it from Jiraiya,” Nagato answers, rather meekly. “He said… he believes I’m his reincarnation, one who will bring peace to the world.”

Well. That certainly made things easier.

“I think you have that potential,” she admits. “Maybe that’s why you have the Rinnegan in the first place?”

“I’m not so sure myself…” he glances at the image, inspecting it attentively.

She focuses and the image of the Sage slowly turns it into the Demonic Statue she had previously seen. “Have you ever felt like... there was something inside you?”

He looks baffled at her question. “How did you know?”

“Your Rinnegan,” she replies, pointing at the figure. “Because you have them you can summon this statue.”

He stares at the illusion, somewhat intimidated. “I saw this… thing in my dreams,” he says and takes a step back. “Some time ago.”

“You did?”

“I was really young, so it scared me a lot,” he explains. “Whenever I got close enough I would feel a terrible pain.”

“You never tried to do anything with it?” Rin asks. “Like summoning it?”

“No. Not after…” he dithers. “Not after what happened...”

Rin hesitates. “…Can I ask what happened?”

“We were attacked by a rogue ninja. I saw Yahiko and Konan getting attacked and I just… killed him. I still don’t know how I did it,” He starts fidgeting with his cloak. “All I know is that Jiraiya decided to train us after that.”

“I’m sorry,” she felt the same. She couldn’t let anything happen to Kakashi or Obito, that’s why she jumped in their place. She’d gladly die for them again. Although this time it would probably be... permanent. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I can tell they’re scared of me,” he utters. “Of my eyes, I mean.”

Rin does a quick hand sign and dispells the genjutsu. They find themselves back at the showery roof of the hideout.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone else ever again,” he looks down at his feet, this time determined. “If I can control this thing then I’ll be able to protect Yahiko and Konan.”

“Then I’ll help you train,” she says. “But not here, there are too many people. Can you think of an isolated place?”

* * *

They walked for a few hours, finally reaching the lake surrounding Amegakure. It was near one of the small towns that had been ravaged by the enemy, so they didn’t have to worry about any people being nearby.

She recalls what she learned from Madara: the Rinnegan were a special dojutsu that gave their user many special abilities. Madara, for whatever reason, gave them to Nagato to help with his plan for world peace. And because of it, he was able to control the Demonic Statue and the Six Paths Technique.

It was worth a try, right? Madara had high hopes for him after all.

But… there was more to it than that. She had started to muse about this for some time now. Why her? Why did she agree to the plan in the first place? She shared his vision for a peaceful world, but…

She shakes her head. That wasn’t why she was here right now.

They stood far apart enough, standing on different corners of the lake.

“What should I do now?” Nagato asks.

She saw Madara summon one of those black receivers, so Nagato could probably do the same?

“Hm…” she wonders. “Try focusing… really hard.”

Nagato looks at her and shrugs. He closes his eyes and focuses. He extendes his arm and the tip of a black rod suddenly emerges from his palm. He quickly drops it on the soggy ground, astonished with what he just did.

“You did it!” Rin praises him.

He looks pleased with himself, even if still confused. He reaches for the receiver and grabs it, carefully examining it.

“You can use that for the Six Paths Technique,” she explains. “I assume Jiraiya told you about them?”

“I only know a little,” Nagato replies. “I know I can summon animals and manipulate gravity around me.” He keeps staring at the rod.

“You can even control someone’s body with those,” she adds. “Basically you can control life and death. If you-,”

“No. I will never use it if it requires me to do something like that,” he interrupts, clearly upset. He throws the receiver on the ground, causing it to disappear. “Yahiko’s Akatsuki is built on the premise of peace, not violence.”

“A-At least you know how to do it…” she mutters. She should have considered her words better.

“Now for the other thing…” He sighs, staring at Rin. “What if I can’t control it?”

“That’s alright. I can cast a genjutsu on you and put you to sleep if things go badly.”

He tilts his head. “All right,” he inhales. “I’ll try summoning it.”

He hesitates at first, not sure what do to. He could feel… _something_ on the back on his mind, as if telling him how to proceed. He grunts and tries _pulling_ the statue.

The ground starts shaking and the lake trembling. Behind Nagato, a wooden-like arm starts to slowly emerge from the ground. It was only a part of it, but it was still enormous.

Rin is watching nervously with her fists clenched. She could feel his chakra going through the roof.

Nagato’s grunts quickly turn into screams as he strugs to keep it in place. The arm wasn’t steady and swung at him, who didn’t have time to dodge. He is pushed to the ground, wheezing, and seemingly lost control of the Statue’s husk.

“Stop!” She yells, but he clearly wasn’t listening anymore. She frantically rushes towards him, trying to avoid the statue’s attacks as much as she could. She immediately locks eyes with Nagato and he passed out, causing the arm to disappear. She scurries to him and picks him up.

Behind her mask her face is completely desolated. _This wasn't suppose to happen._ She carries him over to the hideout, still unconscious.

The Black Zetsu watched it all unfold. He sank to the ground, unnoticed.

* * *

Rin is in her quarters, leaned against the wall, when she hears a knock on the door.

“Can I join you?” Konan asks, slowly opening the door.

“Sure…” Rin says, idle.

“I spoke with Nagato,” Konan says softly. “He told what happened.”

“I tried helping him using his Rinnegan,” she says dejectedly. “I was so sure I could help him.”

“He wasn’t hurt,” Konan tries to reassure her. “And he said he was the one who asked you in the first place.”

“Because _I_ told him,” she murmurs. “I shouldn’t have pressured him. I just made things worse.”

Konan leanes in close to Rin and puts her hand on her shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself,” she says, trying to make Rin feel better. “There was no way you could have known what would happen.”

Rin finds herself staring at Konan. _She is so beautiful_ , she thinks _._ She notices Konan is staring back and quickly turned her head away, flustered.

“You’re always wearing that mask,” Konan says as she starts to reach for Rin’s face and turning it over.

Rin freezes. _What was she supposed to do now??_ Konan calmly removes the mask and waits for some sort of reaction, but Rin doesn’t move. Konan looks at Rin’s face and starts to touch her scarred right side. She is blushing and simply staring. Both were.

Konan’s face starts getting closer. And closer. Rin couldn’t move. She didn’t _want_ to move. Until Konan’s lips are on hers. And Rin, for just a few seconds, forgot about everything. About the cave-in. About the war. About Madara. She just thought of... this.

Konan suddenly pulls away. “I’m sorry!” She covers her mouth with her hands. “I shouldn’t have…”

“That’s alright. I…” Rin’s says with her face bright red. “I…”

Rin’s hands reach for Konan’s, who gladly takes them. They just gazed at each other, feeling the warmth of their hands. Both are smiling. There is no need for words.

And then footsteps are heard.

“I have amazing news!” Kyusuke busts through the door and looks at the two girls. “Uh, am I interrupting something?” He looks embarrassed. Clearly, he was.

The girls blush and immediately pull their hands away from each other. “No, we were just…!” Konan blurts. Rin quickly puts her mask back on.

“C-Come on! I need to tell everyone about this!” and he leaves, sprinting across the room.

They stand still for a while. “I should go,” Konan finally says. She stands up and starts heading towards the door. “It’s my turn on lookout.”

“R-Right.” Rin manags to say.

Konan walks through the door and smiles at Rin, who waved.

* * *

“An alliance?! With Hanzo?!” Yahiko couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“He wants to meet with us!” Kyusuke says as he hands Yahiko a scroll. “It’s all in there!”

“You did it, Yahiko!” Nagato places a hand on Yahiko’s shoulders, still somewhat tired from before.

“No,” he grabs Nagato’s hand and looks at everyone gathered around him. “ _We_ did it.”

“Akatsuki can finally be recognized!” Kie says, throwing his hands in the air in excitement.

“He wants to meet with us tomorrow.” Yahiko states as he reads the parchment.

“Then we should start preparing.” Nagato says. He looks at Rin and blinks. “By the way, where’s Konan?”

“Uh, she said it was her turn on lookout...” Rin says awkwardly and scratches her head.

“Akatsuki can now be seen as a legitimate organization.” Yahiko says, choked up. “Finally.”

_Finally._

Now it was time to get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What If I Told You I wrote this whole AU just to have an excuse to give Rin a girlfriend. Well, not at the beginning anyway.
> 
> ...Wonder what will happen next. How will things turn out now that Rin is here? :^)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's bloody stuff in this chapter, but nothing you haven't seen in naruto tbh

Yahiko and Nagato ha ddecided to bring Rin - well, Nora - along to the meeting; she had proven herself more than trustworthy and capable after all.

They are running towards the assigned rendezvous–point, feet pattering against the moist ground from the constant rain, when-

“Wait!” Rin suddenly yells, causing Yahiko and Nagato to skid on the muddy path.

“What’s wrong?” Nagato asks.

“I sense a large number of people ahead,” she says. “Wasn’t it supposed to be just Hanzo?”

Nagato and Yahiko exchange uneasy looks. They figure it might be a trap.

“You should stay behind,” Yahiko says to Rin. “In case something happens.”

“Seems like someone doesn’t want this meeting to happen.” Nagato says.

Rin inspects the area: there were large rocks everywhere, she could easily hide behind one of them. And she does. She waits until Yahiko and Nagato were far enough, then follows them.

* * *

Sure enough that’s Hanzo, standing on top of the cliff. He’s surrounded on all sides by Ame shinobi.

But it’s not just Ame ninja. Those are Anbu from Konoha, easily recognized by their tattoos. It looks like Hanzo is grabbing on to someone and-

_It’s Konan._

Rin sees Yahiko and Nagato freeze, but they are quickly pulled back to reality as a dagger is thrown at their feet.

“Use that to kill your leader.” Hanzo howls. “If you don’t she dies.” He takes a blade from his pouch and brings it to her neck.

Rin faintly steps from behind the rock, careful to stay hidden from sight.

“Yahiko! Nagato!” Rin yells. “Stall as best you can. _I’ll_ get Konan!” They slowly nod - they can’t risk letting the enemy know she’s there, and so keep looking at Hanzo and Konan.

Yahiko notices Nagato trembling. “Nagato… Don’t do anything. I trust Nora.” This was clearly too familiar for him, and Yahiko knew it.

“Zetsu!” Rin shouts, looking around. “I know you’re there. Come out!”

“What are you planning, Ring-Ring?” He says with a friendly demeanour as he emerges from the rock followed by the White Zetsu.

“Now is not the time!” Swirly’s taken by surprise by her aggrieved tone and goes back a few steps. The Zetsu had never seen Rin so disturbed before. He liked the older Rin better. “Remember our training, back when I still couldn’t use my body? Cover my entire body with yours, it might work again. Half of my body is made from the same material as you!” She says it all in one breath.

“I see where you’re going with this…” As instructed, the Swirly Zetsu expands and starts encasing her entire body, leaving only the eyes to be seen. The other nods and sinks to the ground.

“Let’s do this.”

 

“What are you waiting for? Kill your leader or I’ll kill this woman!” Hanzo’s blade kept getting closer to Konan’s neck.

“Konan!” Nagato screeches. _Please don’t let it happen again._

“Don’t do it! I’m not worth it!” Konan cries out, but is restrained even harder by Hanzo, his blade getting closer.

“Don’t-,” Yahiko steps forward, but-.

“Too late.” He says, and blood splatters from Konan - Hanzo sliced her throat open. Konan falls on the ground motionless, blood gushing. Yahiko and Nagato barely have any time to react at all.

It was as if time stood still.

Rin had never felt so _angry_ before. She didn’t feel angry from when she was kidnapped. She didn’t feel angry when she was crushed. But now? This? She would never let anything happen to those she loved.

From Hanzo’s side, seemingly out of nowhere, a white figure emerges from the ground. It immediately grabs the downed Konan, who is quickly enveloped.

“Is that…” Nagato asks Yahiko, both looking just as confused and distressed as Hanzo.

“What the hell?!” Hanzo wastes no time and swings his blade into the figure, but it passes right through it. “How is this-,”

He has no time to finish his sentence, as the figure descends into the ground the same manner it appeared. There were no words to describe how he felt right now. “Damn that Danzo! He double-crossed us!” What other explanation was there? He was the only one who knew about the meeting. Maybe a rogue Konoha Anbu member? Oh, they were going to have a _talk_ later.

Footsteps and cries echoing through the rain were suddenly heard. “Yahiko! Nagato! We’re here!” _Reinforcements!_ It was Kyusuke and the others.

“Kill them all!” One of the Ame-nin yells, ordering those around him.

Nagato immediately launches himself forward; the image of a bleeding Konan was stuck in his mind, and he _screams_. The ninja certainly weren’t expecting that, but it’s not enough to scare them. They throw their kunai at him, unaffected.

“Deva Path!” He extends his hands and easily repels their attack, throwing the kunai back at them. It manages to pierce through a number of them, much to their stupefaction.

More ninja jump off the cliff and try to intercept the other Akatsuki. True to his nickname, Kyusuke dashes through his opponents and pierces them. He then runs towards Nagato and Yahiko, who just finished their foes, leaving a pool of blood mixed with the never-ending pouring rain.

Rin, enveloped by the Swirly Zetsu, emerges on top of the cliff and weaves hands signs. “Wood Style: Great Spear Tree!” Several roots come out from the ground and start grabbing the remaining ninja surrounding her, slowly but steadily crushing them. Hanzo swiftly dodges the attack, fuming. He weaves a hand sign and a puff of smoke surrounds him. And he is gone. The few remaining shinobi follow suit. The fight was over.

But more importantly. _Konan!_ Not wasting any more time, Rin dashes towards the end of the cliff and jumps down to the middle of the ground.

“I knew it was you! What did you do with Konan?” Yahiko asks, obviously perturbed.

“Come out!” Rin yells as the White Zetsu enveloping Konan emerges from the ground. He unwraps her body and quickly descends back into the soil. She is bleeding out, coughing and spitting. Everyone immediately starts rushing towards her.

“Stay back!” Rin shouts, making them stop on their tracks. She wastes no time using her medical ninjitsu. Green chakra emits from her hands and she grabs Konan’s neck. She examines the wound and focuses her chakra on it.

“Come on, come on!” Rin keeps yelling, but the wound is too deep. “Damn it!” She howls as she throws her mask to the ground, causing some to gasp. She pays them no mind and keeps pressuring the neck.

Frustrated, she rips off part of her Zetsu arm and stems it on the wound. It heals almost instantly, and Konan starts breathing again. _Thank god for those Hashirama cells._

Konan slowly comes back to her senses and opens her eyes, still breathing heavily.

“What-” She is interrupted by a sudden hug from Rin, who grabs onto her firmly. They stay embraced for a long time, in tears. “I.. I thought I lost you!”

“You- you saved me?” Konan asks, still doozy from the all blood loss.

“I would never let anything happen to you.” She looks up and sees a huge grin on everyone’s faces. She pulls away from Konan, embarrassed. “I- I mean! I would never let anything happened to _any_ of you!” The look on her face was priceless.

Yahiko elbows Nagato, who sighs with relief. “Looks like we had nothing to worry about.”

“Sis!” Kyusuke suddenly pushes Yahiko and Nagato to the side, sobbing. “I can’t believe it! I thought you were dead!”

“H-Hey!” Yahiko grabs hold of him as he tries to hug Konan. “She’s hurt.”

“Sorry…”

“Why did you come here in the first place?” Nagato asks him.

“We were tipped off that Konoha shinobi were seen in the perimeter, and we figured something was wrong,” Kie explains. “Clearly we were right.”

Kyusuke turns his attention Rin, who quickly picks up her mask. “How did you do something like that!?” he asks. “I’ve never seen a technique like that before!”

“I honestly wasn’t sure it would work, but I had to try,” she stares back to Konan. “As I said…” She wasn’t sure it would work, she wasn’t even sure she _could_ do it. But she had to try. If she hadn’t...

“Is your… arm alright?” Yahiko asks, visibly wincing. “I mean. You... ripped it off?”

“Y-Yeah… I promise I will explain later.” Rin says.

“We should get out of here.” Kie interrupts, looking at the dead Ame and Konoha ninja. “Hanzo will certainly want his revenge.”

“Not to mention all those other Konoha Anbu...” Nagato adds.

“That bastard! He made us come for peace talks and then he attacks us!” Yahiko roars. “He betrayed us!” He considered Hanzo to be a hero, a savior. Someone who would bring peace to the ignored Amegakure. But he showed his true colours today, he would easily dispose of anyone he deemed unnecessary.

“We’re clearly a thorn on his side,” Konan huffs, slowly getting up. Kie helps her to her feet. “He might try something again.”

“We…” Kyusuke hesitates. “We need to do something about Hanzo. People can never be free under his tyranny.”

“What would you have us do?” Konan argues. “You saw what happened.”

“I...” Rin interrupts and they all stare at her. “I _might_ have an idea…” She refers at Nagato, who looks like he knows what she’s talking about.

The Akatsuki glance at each other, intrigued. “Anyway,” Yahiko sighs, exhausted. “We should go back to the hideout. We need to rest.”

“We’ll deal with Hanzo later.” Nagato says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that could’ve been worse. 
> 
> I can't write fight scenes for the life of me, but I hope these turned out okay?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intermission!

“I see you still keep those ugly goggles of yours.” Kakashi says as he enters the classroom. He walks towards Obito, who’s leaning against the door.

“They’re not ugly!” Obito scoffs. He removes his goggles from his head and proudly displays them. “These are my trademark Uchi-,” he doesn’t finish his sentence as he is suddenly thrown against the wall.

“My eternal rival!” Might rushes through the door and jumps right in front of Kakashi.

“Guy-!” Kakashi barely has time to react at all.

“Let’s race around Konoha!” he says with huge thumbs up. “Our rivalry will never be matched!”

“Maybe later, Guy,” Kakashi says. “There’s something we have to do first.”

“Hm?” Guy glances at Kakashi and notices him holding a bouquet of different types of flowers.

“Ugh…” Obito slowly starts to get up, picking up the scattered flowers he dropped. “We’re going to visit Rin’s grave today.”

“Rin?”

* * *

The three chuunin walk silently amidst the cemetery, gazing at the grassy path until they finally reach their destination.

They immediately notice Kushina and Minato standing in front of Rin’s grave. It was adorned with flowers, seashells and some medical packs. The boys slowly approach them, still without saying a word.

Kakashi walks towards the grave and places his flowers, kneeling. He lowers his head. “If I hadn’t-”

“Kakashi,” Obito prevents him from finishing his sentence. “Remember what Rin said. She didn’t blame you.”

“I heard what happened.” Guy tries to reassure him. “I don’t think it was your fault...”

“If anyone should be at fault,” Minato slowly reaches over to Kakashi and places his hands on his shoulders. “It should be me.” he sighs. “I was the one who gave you that mission.”

Kakashi and Obito both look up at him, surprised.  “Sensei…”

“If _anyone_ should be at fault,” Kushina says out loud. “It should be the ones who assigned you that mission in the first place!” Her voice getting louder and louder.

“Kushina!” Minato turns back at her and glances around the cemetery. There were always Anbu placed somewhere after all. “Don’t say it like that!”

“I’ll say it like _this_!” she exclaims. “They were kids. They _are_ kids” her tone was harsh. “The Third should have known better.” she was holding back tears; Rin had always been her favourite after all.

Minato approaches his wife and hugs her. She rests her head on his shoulder and he starts caressing her hair. “He could never have guessed what happened.”

“He’s the Hokage,” she leans away from his grasp. “He could have sent his Anbu instead of children who barely got out of the Academy.”

Kakashi and Obito exchange uneasy looks. “Um,” Kakashi says. “I don’t think she’d want any of us to act like this. She would probably tell us to move forward and not dwell on the past.”

Minato clears his throat. “Kakashi’s right,” he takes a confident stand. “Let’s leave, I’ll treat you all to some ramen.”

* * *

Minato gloomily shakes his wallet, now empty from all the people it fed. His demeanour seems to go unnoticed by the others.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Kushina says to Kakashi, then to Obito. “With everything that happened in your life, I’m glad you guys are coping well.”

“Yeah, it’s good to have friends bothering you all the time,” Kakashi mutters to himself, casuing a pout from Obito. “And at least I don’t live alone now.”

“Hm?” Kushina tilts her head to the side, confused at his statement.

“I asked Tsume if she could take Kakashi in,” Minato explains, putting his wallet away, and looks at Kakashi. “You are part Inuzuka after all.”

“You are?” Obito asks, visibly surprised. “I mean, I always knew you liked dogs.”

“Yeah, my mom was part Inuzuka,” Kakashi says. “I had no one else to take care of me, so...”

“You were in a terrible state after that mission.” Guy remembers.

“That’s why I had you stay home for a while,” Minato says. “There were some who wanted you to join Anbu because of your experience, but there’s no way I’d let you do that. Not after what you went through.”

“I don’t think I would have joined them either way...” Kakashi says, placing a hand on his chin.

“What about you, Obito?” Kushina asks, ruffling his hair. “I know you’re staying with Mikoto, right?”

“I am! I mean, Fugaku’s kind of scary but Itachi’s like my younger brother now!” Obito says proudly as he strikes a pose with his goggles. “I help take care of him.”

“More like, _he_ takes care of you.” Kakashi jokes, elbowing Guy who snorts slightly.

Obito sticks out his tongue at them. “Anyway, I can’t wait to teach him my fireball skills.”

Kakashi snickers. “Keep dreaming...”

“You’ll see! He’ll be an amazing shinobi in no time!”

“As long as he doesn’t take your fashion sense.” Kakashi raises his hand in the air to Guy, who gladly high-five’s it.

“Hey!”

They keep bickering until they spot Mikoto coming from the other side of the street, wearing her jounin vest and holding onto a sleepy Itachi. She notices the group and shoots a kind smile.

Kushina immediately runs towards her, shoving aside Minato. More like, runs towards Itachi. “Oh my gosh! Look at him!” she squeals and starts poking his cheek, causing him to let out a small cry. “So cute!”

“I think you should let him sleep...” Minato remarks, amused at his wife’s reaction to the infant.

“Obito, you’re not causing trouble are you...” Mikoto asks him with a smirk.

“N-No!” he is quick to counter. “I was going straight home. Promise!”

“I should get going too,” Kakashi says. “I promised Tsume I would look after Hana today.”

“I’ll join you, my rival!” Guy says. “Let’s race!” and he dashes off. Kakashi sighs and follows after him.

“Then I’ll see you later.” Mikoto bows to the pair, and leaves with Obito. He asks if he can hold Itachi and she reluctantly complies.

“They sure are lively...” Minato says cheerfully as he watches them leave.

“Yeah.” Kushina smiles at Minato. “Isn’t Itachi a cutie?”

He returns it with a quiet laugh. “He sure is...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because there's stuff i want to do in the future...
> 
> There's no way minato would let 2 traumatized youths into ANBU; also Inuzuka Kakashi is canon at this point, and Mikoto raising Obito is just a really cute HC of mine


End file.
